Hi All
My name is Tammy I live in Kent - UK, I am 29 and am new to riding.
Learning to ride is something I have wanted to do for years and years but there has never been the right time etc - until now, I have just lost my job and thought now would be a good time to start.

I never actually thought I would be able to ride because I was born with a club foot and have had 16 operations on it, despite this I walk on the ball of my foot and my toes and have to wear special medical boots as my heel never touches the ground, also as part of it, my leg is straight but my knee points off to the right, Im not the fittest person in the world either as I weigh about 15 stone due to the lack of exercise.

I was talked into having a lesson to see how I would do, so last week on Thursday I went to a BSR? approved riding school in Bexley on the outskirts of London, and had my first lesson.

I met a lady called Hilary who had been around horses all her life, she checked the width of my foot to make sure it fitted in the stirrup, then made me stand on a step, it was a bit freaky putting my foot in the stirrup and all my weight then lifting my leg over the top but I did it, then we got my feet in the stirrups, I still felt odd, but I wasnt sitting in the saddle properly, so once I was I felt safer, then I had to hold the reighns and once I had control of them I felt ok.

I was quite suprised at how quickly I forgot how high up I was and just concerntrated on what I was being told, it was hard remembering to sit up totally straight as well as everything else, but as soon as I did it immediatly felt right.

We walked around the arena keeping to the track with me remembering to look up, and steer the pony (Lurpak) in the right directions, it seemed odd having to point his head towards the wall to get him away from it but I soon got the hang of it, he kept putting his head down but I managed to let the reighns slip through my fingers instead of him almost jerking me off him, it felt a bit odd at one point because I didnt feel straight, it was because he was standing with a back leg not straight underneath him, and Hilary said that was a good sign I was feeling what his body was doing as some people never pick up on things like that.

I only went wrong once when I tried confusing the poor pony by leaning back to stop him at the same time as kicking him to go, so I did feel a bit bad about that but Lurpak took it all in his stride.

Im suprised at how little trouble my foot caused, the only time my foot came out the stirrup was that one time he didnt stand up straight.

I hope I did well for a first lesson, I didnt ache nearly as much as I do when I go to the horrible gym!

awww congrats and welcome
horses are a great thing i have seen children with autism and even one little girl who had movement of only half her body ride a horse and within 6 mo she could flick hr wrist and move both her shoulders.. horses are magical and its amazing to hear another story of a horse helping someone :]

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